US20180281112A1 - Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region - Google Patents
Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20180281112A1 US20180281112A1 US15/474,052 US201715474052A US2018281112A1 US 20180281112 A1 US20180281112 A1 US 20180281112A1 US 201715474052 A US201715474052 A US 201715474052A US 2018281112 A1 US2018281112 A1 US 2018281112A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- melting
- melting beam
- field region
- overlapping field
- section
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 238000002844 melting Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 225
- 230000008018 melting Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 225
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 50
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 48
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 48
- 239000000654 additive Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 47
- 230000000996 additive effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 47
- 239000000843 powder Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 42
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 31
- 238000003860 storage Methods 0.000 claims description 15
- 239000011800 void material Substances 0.000 claims description 13
- 239000010410 layer Substances 0.000 description 32
- 239000013598 vector Substances 0.000 description 23
- 230000007547 defect Effects 0.000 description 12
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 11
- 239000000155 melt Substances 0.000 description 10
- 238000012545 processing Methods 0.000 description 10
- 239000011261 inert gas Substances 0.000 description 7
- 239000007789 gas Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 6
- 238000011960 computer-aided design Methods 0.000 description 5
- XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Argon Chemical compound [Ar] XKRFYHLGVUSROY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N Atomic nitrogen Chemical compound N#N IJGRMHOSHXDMSA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 4
- 238000010894 electron beam technology Methods 0.000 description 4
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 3
- 230000013011 mating Effects 0.000 description 3
- 229910001182 Mo alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052786 argon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000004891 communication Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000004320 controlled atmosphere Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000000875 corresponding effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000013461 design Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052757 nitrogen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000002994 raw material Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000010146 3D printing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910001111 Fine metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910001257 Nb alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910018487 Ni—Cr Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052769 Ytterbium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- MTHLBYMFGWSRME-UHFFFAOYSA-N [Cr].[Co].[Mo] Chemical compound [Cr].[Co].[Mo] MTHLBYMFGWSRME-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- VZUPOJJVIYVMIT-UHFFFAOYSA-N [Mo].[Ni].[Cr].[Fe] Chemical compound [Mo].[Ni].[Cr].[Fe] VZUPOJJVIYVMIT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- KMCVQCJLAZSHCL-UHFFFAOYSA-N [Nb].[Mo].[Cr].[Ni] Chemical compound [Nb].[Mo].[Cr].[Ni] KMCVQCJLAZSHCL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000003466 anti-cipated effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013459 approach Methods 0.000 description 1
- QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N atomic oxygen Chemical compound [O] QVGXLLKOCUKJST-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910001566 austenite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- PRQRQKBNBXPISG-UHFFFAOYSA-N chromium cobalt molybdenum nickel Chemical compound [Cr].[Co].[Ni].[Mo] PRQRQKBNBXPISG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- VNNRSPGTAMTISX-UHFFFAOYSA-N chromium nickel Chemical compound [Cr].[Ni] VNNRSPGTAMTISX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000001276 controlling effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007796 conventional method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012937 correction Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002596 correlated effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- -1 e.g. Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002360 explosive Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910000856 hastalloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910001119 inconels 625 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910000816 inconels 718 Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000003754 machining Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000001301 oxygen Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052760 oxygen Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000007639 printing Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000002356 single layer Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003746 surface roughness Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000002699 waste material Substances 0.000 description 1
- NAWDYIZEMPQZHO-UHFFFAOYSA-N ytterbium Chemical compound [Yb] NAWDYIZEMPQZHO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
- B23K26/34—Laser welding for purposes other than joining
- B23K26/342—Build-up welding
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B22F7/00—Manufacture of composite layers, workpieces, or articles, comprising metallic powder, by sintering the powder, with or without compacting wherein at least one part is obtained by sintering or compression
- B22F7/06—Manufacture of composite layers, workpieces, or articles, comprising metallic powder, by sintering the powder, with or without compacting wherein at least one part is obtained by sintering or compression of composite workpieces or articles from parts, e.g. to form tipped tools
- B22F7/062—Manufacture of composite layers, workpieces, or articles, comprising metallic powder, by sintering the powder, with or without compacting wherein at least one part is obtained by sintering or compression of composite workpieces or articles from parts, e.g. to form tipped tools involving the connection or repairing of preformed parts
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K15/00—Electron-beam welding or cutting
- B23K15/004—Tandem beams or torches, i.e. working simultaneously with several beams or torches
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K15/00—Electron-beam welding or cutting
- B23K15/0046—Welding
- B23K15/0086—Welding welding for purposes other than joining, e.g. built-up welding
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K15/00—Electron-beam welding or cutting
- B23K15/02—Control circuits therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
- B23K26/02—Positioning or observing the workpiece, e.g. with respect to the point of impact; Aligning, aiming or focusing the laser beam
- B23K26/06—Shaping the laser beam, e.g. by masks or multi-focusing
- B23K26/0604—Shaping the laser beam, e.g. by masks or multi-focusing by a combination of beams
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
- B23K26/02—Positioning or observing the workpiece, e.g. with respect to the point of impact; Aligning, aiming or focusing the laser beam
- B23K26/06—Shaping the laser beam, e.g. by masks or multi-focusing
- B23K26/0604—Shaping the laser beam, e.g. by masks or multi-focusing by a combination of beams
- B23K26/0613—Shaping the laser beam, e.g. by masks or multi-focusing by a combination of beams having a common axis
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- B23K26/00—Working by laser beam, e.g. welding, cutting or boring
- B23K26/70—Auxiliary operations or equipment
- B23K26/702—Auxiliary equipment
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
- B29C64/10—Processes of additive manufacturing
- B29C64/141—Processes of additive manufacturing using only solid materials
- B29C64/153—Processes of additive manufacturing using only solid materials using layers of powder being selectively joined, e.g. by selective laser sintering or melting
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B29—WORKING OF PLASTICS; WORKING OF SUBSTANCES IN A PLASTIC STATE IN GENERAL
- B29C—SHAPING OR JOINING OF PLASTICS; SHAPING OF MATERIAL IN A PLASTIC STATE, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; AFTER-TREATMENT OF THE SHAPED PRODUCTS, e.g. REPAIRING
- B29C64/00—Additive manufacturing, i.e. manufacturing of three-dimensional [3D] objects by additive deposition, additive agglomeration or additive layering, e.g. by 3D printing, stereolithography or selective laser sintering
- B29C64/20—Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
- B29C64/264—Arrangements for irradiation
- B29C64/277—Arrangements for irradiation using multiple radiation means, e.g. micromirrors or multiple light-emitting diodes [LED]
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B22F10/00—Additive manufacturing of workpieces or articles from metallic powder
- B22F10/20—Direct sintering or melting
- B22F10/28—Powder bed fusion, e.g. selective laser melting [SLM] or electron beam melting [EBM]
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B22F10/00—Additive manufacturing of workpieces or articles from metallic powder
- B22F10/80—Data acquisition or data processing
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B22F12/00—Apparatus or devices specially adapted for additive manufacturing; Auxiliary means for additive manufacturing; Combinations of additive manufacturing apparatus or devices with other processing apparatus or devices
- B22F12/40—Radiation means
- B22F12/44—Radiation means characterised by the configuration of the radiation means
- B22F12/45—Two or more
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B22—CASTING; POWDER METALLURGY
- B22F—WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER; APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- B22F2999/00—Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B33—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
- B33Y—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- B33Y10/00—Processes of additive manufacturing
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B33—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
- B33Y—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- B33Y30/00—Apparatus for additive manufacturing; Details thereof or accessories therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B33—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY
- B33Y—ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING, i.e. MANUFACTURING OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL [3-D] OBJECTS BY ADDITIVE DEPOSITION, ADDITIVE AGGLOMERATION OR ADDITIVE LAYERING, e.g. BY 3-D PRINTING, STEREOLITHOGRAPHY OR SELECTIVE LASER SINTERING
- B33Y50/00—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing
- B33Y50/02—Data acquisition or data processing for additive manufacturing for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P10/00—Technologies related to metal processing
- Y02P10/25—Process efficiency
Definitions
- the disclosure relates generally to additive manufacturing, and more particularly, to methods and systems for metal powder additive manufacturing a portion of an object using different melting beam sources in an overlapping field region of the sources and including overlapping border and internal sections of the portion.
- additive manufacturing includes a wide variety of processes of producing an object through the successive layering of material rather than the removal of material. As such, additive manufacturing can create complex geometries without the use of any sort of tools, molds or fixtures, and with little or no waste material. Instead of machining components from solid billets of material, much of which is cut away and discarded, the only material used in additive manufacturing is what is required to shape the object.
- Additive manufacturing techniques typically include taking a three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) file of the object to be formed, electronically slicing the object into layers, and creating a file with a two-dimensional image of each layer. The file may then be loaded into a preparation software system that interprets the file such that the object can be built by different types of additive manufacturing systems.
- CAD computer aided design
- RP rapid prototyping
- DDM direct digital manufacturing
- metal powder additive manufacturing techniques such as selective laser melting (SLM) and direct metal laser melting (DMLM)
- SLM selective laser melting
- DMLM direct metal laser melting
- metal powder layers are sequentially melted together to form the object. More specifically, fine metal powder layers are sequentially melted after being uniformly distributed using an applicator on a metal powder bed.
- the metal powder bed can be moved in a vertical axis.
- the process takes place in a processing chamber having a precisely controlled atmosphere of inert gas, e.g., argon or nitrogen.
- inert gas e.g., argon or nitrogen.
- the melting may be performed by, for example, a high powered melting beam, such as a 100 Watt ytterbium laser, to fully weld (melt) the metal powder to form a solid metal.
- a high powered melting beam such as a 100 Watt ytterbium laser
- the melting beam moves in the X-Y direction using scanning mirrors, and has an intensity sufficient to fully weld (melt) the metal powder to form a solid metal.
- the metal powder bed is lowered for each subsequent two dimensional layer, and the process repeats until the object is completely formed.
- some metal additive manufacturing systems employ numerous high powered melting beam sources, e.g., four lasers, that work together to form numerous objects or a larger object.
- high powered melting beam sources e.g., four lasers
- some of these systems employ techniques that form a shell of an object with one melting beam source using a small beam size, and a core of the object with another melting beam source using a larger beam size that melts material adjacent to the shell.
- some of these systems employ techniques that form a portion of an object with one melting beam source, and at least a second portion with a second melting beam source that melts material adjacent thereto. In either event, the melting beams sources must be precisely aligned to ensure defects do not occur where the two melting beam sources work in adjacent areas.
- a first aspect of the disclosure provides a method for additive manufacturing an object, the method comprising: for a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of a plurality of melting beams of a metal powder additive manufacturing system, sequentially forming each layer of the first portion by: forming only a border section of the first portion of the object using a first melting beam of the plurality of melting beams in the first overlapping field region; and forming an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section using at least one second, different melting beam from the first melting beam in the first overlapping field region, wherein at least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- a second aspect of the disclosure provides a multiple melting beam source, metal powder additive manufacturing (AM) system for additive manufacturing an object, the system comprising: a metal powder additive manufacturing printer including a plurality of melting beam sources for creating a respective plurality of melting beams; and a control system configured to direct operation of the plurality of melting beam sources to: for a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of the plurality of melting beams, sequentially form each layer of the first portion by: forming only a border section of the first portion of the object using a first melting beam of the plurality of melting beams in the first overlapping field region; and forming an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section using at least one second, different melting beam from the first melting beam in the first overlapping field region, wherein at least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- AM metal powder additive manufacturing
- a third aspect of the disclosure provides a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code representative of an object, the object physically generated upon execution of the code by a computerized metal powder, multiple melting beam source, additive manufacturing system, the code comprising: code representing a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of a plurality of melting beam sources of the additive manufacturing system, the code for the first portion including: a border section of the first portion of the object to be built using a first melting beam source of the plurality of melting beam sources in the first overlapping field region; an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section to be built using at least one second, different melting beam source from the first melting beam source in the first overlapping field region; and wherein the code overlaps an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a conventional two melting beam additive manufacturing system building an object.
- FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of respective fields of a conventional four melting beam additive manufacturing system.
- FIG. 3 shows a schematic plan view of the four melting beam additive manufacturing system of FIG. 2 building a pair of objects in overlapping field regions.
- FIGS. 4A-C show schematic plan views of melting beam misalignment issues of multiple melting beam additive manufacturing systems.
- FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a multiple melting beam additive manufacturing system, including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code representative of an object, according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 6 shows a schematic plan view of a four melting beam additive manufacturing system building a pair of objects in overlapping field regions according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 7 shows an exploded, schematic plan view of a layer of one object formed by the system from FIG. 6 illustrating a border section and internal sections formed in an overlapping field region according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 8 shows an enlarged, schematic plan view of a layer of one object formed by the system from FIG. 6 illustrating the overlapping border and internal sections formed in an overlapping field region according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of another object and melting beam scan vectors thereof according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 10 shows a schematic plan view of another object including a void formed according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 11 shows an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the object of FIG. 10 including a void formed according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic plan views of examples of other objects formed according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- melting beam source may refer to: any form of melting beam originating structure such as a laser scanner or electron beam electromagnetic coil, or any form of device that creates a number of melting beams from a single beam, e.g., a beam separator, mirror, etc.
- the melting beam is capable of forming a melt pool of metal powder in an additive manufacturing setting.
- object(s) may have to be produced by more than one melting beam source.
- Embodiments of the disclosure provide a technique to address melting beam source misalignment relative to an object made by more than one melting beam.
- the number of melting beam sources used by any metal powder additive manufacturing system may vary, e.g., two, three, four, etc.
- FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of melting beams of an additive manufacturing system using two adjacent melting beam sources 10 , 12 , e.g., lasers.
- the melting beam(s) (dashed lines) are guided, e.g., by scanner mirrors, along scan vectors (paths), which are indicated by arrows on a top surface of illustrative object 20 .
- Internal scan vectors 22 melt inner regions 24 of object 20 that scan linearly across a layer, and a very thin border 26 is melted with one to three contour scan vectors 28 that only follow a desired outer edge of the layer.
- border 26 is always along a perimeter of object 20 , and internal scan vectors 22 only create inner regions 24 within border 26 .
- each laser 10 , 12 has its own field ( 1 and 2 , respectively) upon which it can work.
- field indicates an area of melt powder within which a particular melting beam source can create a melt pool of a metal powder layer, i.e., an areal range of the particular source.
- Each melting beam source 10 , 12 works within only a small portion of its respective field at any given time.
- Each field and the scan vectors are assigned to one or the other source 10 , 12 with a split line 30 (within circle) indicating a line of demarcation of the fields. Which scan vector is made by which source usually depends on the region that can be reached by each source.
- FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of melting beam source fields of an additive manufacturing system that employs four melting beam sources 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , e.g., lasers or electron beam sources.
- each melting beam source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 has a respective field 1 , 2 , 3 4 upon which it can create a melt pool on the metal powder on a build platform.
- Each melting beam source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 is shown centered over its respective field, but this may not be necessary in all instances.
- Each melting beam source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 works within only a small portion of its field 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , respectively, at any given time.
- FIG. 1 shows a melting beam source fields of an additive manufacturing system that employs four melting beam sources 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , e.g., lasers or electron beam sources.
- each melting beam source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 has a respective field 1 , 2
- the total metal powder build platform area is, for example, 500 millimeters (mm) by 500 mm.
- Each melting beam source however has a field that is 425 mm by 425 mm, e.g., see dimension lines for field 1 of source 10 .
- adjacent fields overlap.
- An “overlapping field region” or “overlap region” of fields indicates an area in which more than one melting beam source can create a melt pool.
- each field may have a 350 mm overlap region with an adjacent field as follows: region 40 for sources 10 and 12 ; region 42 for sources 12 and 14 ; region 44 for sources 14 and 16 ; and region 46 for sources 10 and 16 .
- a 350 mm by a 350 mm square overlap region 48 exists in the center that is covered by each melting beam source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 .
- a “non-overlapping field region” indicates an area in which only one melting beam source can create a melt pool.
- field 1 includes non-overlapping field region 70 of melting beam source 10
- field 2 includes non-overlapping field region 72 of melting beam source 12
- field 3 includes non-overlapping field region 74 of melting beam source 14
- field 4 includes non-overlapping field region 76 of melting beam source 16 .
- each non-overlapping region is 75 mm by 75 mm.
- FIG. 2 is but one example of an arrangement of overlapping melting beams, and various other options may exist with different sized fields and overlapping regions. In another option, each field may completely overlap each other field so the entire build platform is an overlapping region.
- FIG. 3 shows the schematic plan view of FIG. 2 with a layer of two objects 50 , 52 being formed by melting sources 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 , which are shown centered over their respective fields 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . While objects 50 , 52 are shown as circular, it is understood they can be any shape. Sections of each object 50 , 52 formed by a respective melting source are labeled with the reference number of melting source 10 , 12 , 14 , 16 which builds it in a box. As indicated, object 50 may be formed by: source 10 in non-overlapping region 70 of field 1 , source 12 in overlapping field region 40 , and source 16 in overlapping field region 46 .
- object 52 may be formed by: source 14 in non-overlapping region 74 in field 3 , source 12 in overlapping field region 42 , and source 16 in overlapping field region 44 .
- melting beam sources are conventionally configured to have their vectors align exactly to generate a dense microstructure internally (e.g., at internal mating surfaces noted by line 54 ), and an object without a step on the outer surface (e.g., at edge 56 where surfaces mate).
- a portion of object 52 that are built by more than one source are separated along a fixed split line, e.g., line 54 , and every source melts the corresponding portion of object 52 cross section on its side of the split line.
- fields may be configured to overlap slightly (e.g., 0.5 millimeters) in either an X or a Y direction to compensate for misalignment between the melting beam sources in one of those directions.
- FIGS. 4A-C show intended object shapes with solid outer lines, possible misalignment issues, and their related defects of two melting beam sources (MBS 1 and MBS 2 ).
- FIG. 4A shows a Y-direction shift separating fields that creates a defect area 62 .
- Defect areas 62 would include such defects as pores or other forms of insufficient melting, i.e., where MBS 1 and/or MBS 2 do not create a melt pool.
- FIG. 4B shows an overlapping Y-direction shift that creates defect area(s) 64 .
- Defect areas 64 indicate areas where the object is built too small, i.e., where MBS 1 and/or MBS 2 do not create a melt pool to the desired shape.
- FIG. 4C shows an X-direction shift, which can create defect areas 66 observed as misaligned or stepped surfaces, or surface roughness.
- the overlap region in the Y-direction in, for example FIG. 4B can be used to compensate for some Y-direction shift.
- the Y-direction shift of FIG. 4A occurs, or the X-direction shift occurs, or both X and Y direction shifts occur together, there is currently no way to adequately compensate for the situation. (It is noted that while shown in a particular X-Y arrangement, all of the defects illustrated can occur in the Y direction or the X direction.)
- Embodiments of the disclosure provide a strategy which allocates the work of multiple melting beam sources by separating a portion of an object to be built in an overlapping field region into an outer, border section and one or more internal, embedded sections within the border section.
- the outer, border section is molten by a single melting beam source, whereas the inner, embedded region is molten by at least one different source.
- the internal and border sections include an overlap section along an entirety of their mating edges, i.e., in the X-direction and the Y-direction. Consequently, compensation for shifts can occur in both X and Y directions, avoiding the defects described relative to FIGS. 4A-C .
- FIG. 5 shows a schematic/block view of an illustrative computerized metal powder additive manufacturing system 100 (hereinafter ‘AM system 100 ’) for generating one large object 102 or multiple objects 102 A, 102 B (shown), of which only a single layer is shown.
- AM system 100 The teachings of the disclosures will be described relative to building an object 102 A, B using multiple melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 , but it is emphasized and will be readily recognized that the teachings of the disclosure are equally applicable to build multiple objects 102 A, 102 B using multiple melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 .
- AM system 100 is arranged for direct metal laser melting (DMLM).
- DMLM direct metal laser melting
- Objects 102 A, 102 B are illustrated as circular elements; however, it is understood that the additive manufacturing process can be readily adapted to manufacture any shaped object, a large variety of objects and a large number of objects on build platform 132 .
- AM system 100 generally includes a metal powder additive manufacturing control system 104 (“control system”) and an AM printer 106 .
- control system 104 executes set of computer-executable instructions or code 108 to generate object 102 using multiple melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 .
- four melting beam sources may include four lasers.
- Control system 104 is shown implemented on computer 110 as computer program code.
- computer 110 is shown including a memory 112 and/or storage system 122 , a processor unit (PU) 114 , an input/output (I/O) interface 116 , and a bus 118 . Further, computer 110 is shown in communication with an external I/O device/resource 120 and a storage system 122 .
- processor unit (PU) 114 executes computer program code 108 that is stored in memory 112 and/or storage system 122 . While executing computer program code 108 , processor unit (PU) 114 can read and/or write data to/from memory 112 , storage system 122 , I/O device 120 and/or AM printer 106 .
- Bus 118 provides a communication link between each of the components in computer 110
- I/O device 120 can comprise any device that enables a user to interact with computer 110 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, display, etc.).
- Computer 110 is only representative of various possible combinations of hardware and software.
- processor unit (PU) 114 may comprise a single processing unit, or be distributed across one or more processing units in one or more locations, e.g., on a client and server.
- memory 112 and/or storage system 122 may reside at one or more physical locations.
- Memory 112 and/or storage system 122 can comprise any combination of various types of non-transitory computer readable storage medium including magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), etc.
- Computer 110 can comprise any type of computing device such as an industrial controller, a network server, a desktop computer, a laptop, a handheld device, etc.
- AM system 100 and, in particular control system 104 executes code 108 to generate object 102 .
- Code 108 can include, inter alia, a set of computer-executable instructions 108 S (herein also referred to as ‘code 108 S’) for operating AM printer 106 , and a set of computer-executable instructions 108 O (herein also referred to as ‘code 108 O’) defining object 102 to be physically generated by AM printer 106 .
- code 108 S set of computer-executable instructions 108 S for operating AM printer 106
- code 108 O herein also referred to as ‘code 108 O’
- additive manufacturing processes begin with a non-transitory computer readable storage medium (e.g., memory 112 , storage system 122 , etc.) storing code 108 .
- Set of computer-executable instructions 108 S for operating AM printer 106 may include any now known or later developed software code capable of operating AM printer 106 .
- Set of computer-executable instructions 108 O defining object 102 may include a precisely defined 3D model of an object and can be generated from any of a large variety of well-known computer aided design (CAD) software systems such as AutoCAD®, TurboCAD®, DesignCAD 3D Max, etc.
- code 108 O can include any now known or later developed file format.
- code 108 O representative of object 102 may be translated between different formats.
- code 108 O may include Standard Tessellation Language (STL) files which was created for stereolithography CAD programs of 3D Systems, or an additive manufacturing file (AMF), which is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standard that is an extensible markup-language (XML) based format designed to allow any CAD software to describe the shape and composition of any three-dimensional object to be fabricated on any AM printer.
- STL Standard Tessellation Language
- AMF additive manufacturing file
- ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- XML extensible markup-language
- Code 108 O representative of object 102 may also be converted into a set of data signals and transmitted, received as a set of data signals and converted to code, stored, etc., as necessary.
- Code 108 O may be configured according to embodiments of the disclosure to allow for formation of border and internal sections in overlapping field regions, as will be described.
- code 108 O may be an input to AM system 100 and may come from a part designer, an intellectual property (IP) provider, a design company, the operator or owner of AM system 100 , or from other sources.
- control system 104 executes code 108 S and 108 O, dividing object 102 into a series of thin slices that assembles using AM printer 106 in successive layers of material.
- AM printer 106 may include a processing chamber 130 that is sealed to provide a controlled atmosphere for object 102 printing.
- a build platform 132 upon which object 102 is/are built, is positioned within processing chamber 130 .
- a number of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 are configured to melt layers of metal powder on build platform 132 to generate object 102 . While four melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 will be described herein, it is emphasized that the teachings of the disclosure are applicable to a system employing any number of sources, e.g., 2, 3, or 5 or more. As shown in the schematic plan view of FIG.
- each melting beam source 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 has a field 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 including a non-overlapping field region 170 , 172 , 174 , 176 , respectively, in which it can exclusively melt metal powder, and at least one overlapping field region 180 , 182 , 184 , 186 in which two or more sources can melt metal powder.
- each melting beam source 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 may generate a melting beam (two shown, 138 , 138 ′, in FIG. 5 ), respectively, that fuses particles for each slice, as defined by code 108 O. For example, in FIG.
- melting beam source 134 is shown creating a layer of object 102 using melting beam 138 in one region, while melting beam source 136 is shown creating a layer of object 102 using melting beam 138 ′ in another region.
- Each melting beam source 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 is calibrated in any now known or later developed manner. That is, each melting beam source 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 has had its laser or electron beam's anticipated position relative to build platform 132 correlated with its actual position in order to provide an individual position correction (not shown) to ensure its individual accuracy.
- each of plurality melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 may create melting beams, e.g., 138 , 138 ′ ( FIG. 5 ), having the same cross-sectional dimensions (e.g., shape and size in operation), power and scan speed.
- an applicator 140 may create a thin layer of raw material 142 spread out as the blank canvas from which each successive slice of the final object will be created.
- Various parts of AM printer 106 may move to accommodate the addition of each new layer, e.g., a build platform 132 may lower and/or chamber 130 and/or applicator 140 may rise after each layer.
- the process may use different raw materials in the form of fine-grain metal powder, a stock of which may be held in a chamber 144 accessible by applicator 140 .
- object 102 may be made of a metal which may include a pure metal or an alloy.
- the metal may include practically any non-reactive metal powder, i.e., non-explosive or non-conductive powder, such as but not limited to: a cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy, stainless steel, an austenite nickel-chromium based alloy such as a nickel-chromium-molybdenum-niobium alloy (NiCrMoNb) (e.g., Inconel 625 or Inconel 718), a nickel-chromium-iron-molybdenum alloy (NiCrFeMo) (e.g., Hastelloy® X available from Haynes International, Inc.), or a nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloy (NiCrCoMo) (e.g., Haynes 282 available from Haynes International, Inc.), etc.
- a cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy such as a nickel-chromium
- Processing chamber 130 is filled with an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen and controlled to minimize or eliminate oxygen.
- Control system 104 is configured to control a flow of a gas mixture 160 within processing chamber 130 from a source of inert gas 154 .
- control system 104 may control a pump 150 , and/or a flow valve system 152 for inert gas to control the content of gas mixture 160 .
- Flow valve system 152 may include one or more computer controllable valves, flow sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc., capable of precisely controlling flow of the particular gas.
- Pump 150 may be provided with or without valve system 152 . Where pump 150 is omitted, inert gas may simply enter a conduit or manifold prior to introduction to processing chamber 130 .
- Source of inert gas 154 may take the form of any conventional source for the material contained therein, e.g. a tank, reservoir or other source. Any sensors (not shown) required to measure gas mixture 160 may be provided. Gas mixture 160 may be filtered using a filter 162 in a conventional manner.
- control system 104 controls flow of gas mixture 160 within processing chamber 130 from source of inert gas 154 .
- Control system 104 also controls AM printer 106 , and in particular, applicator 140 and melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 to sequentially melt layers of metal powder on build platform 132 to generate object 102 according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- FIG. 6 shows schematic plan view of respective fields of a four melting beam AM system 100 ( FIG. 5 );
- FIG. 7 shows an exploded, schematic plan view of sections of an illustrative object 102 A from FIG. 6 ;
- FIG. 8 shows an enlarged, schematic plan view of object 102 A from FIG. 6 illustrating object overlap sections as will be described herein.
- an illustrative object 102 A may be formed by: melting beam source 134 in non-overlapping region 170 in field 1 , melting beam source 135 in overlapping field region 180 , and melting beam source 137 in overlapping field region 186 .
- object 102 B may be formed by: melting beam source 136 in non-overlapping field region 174 in field 3 , melting beam source 135 in overlapping field region 182 , and melting beam source 137 in overlapping field region 184 .
- each object may include one or more internal sections (two shown, 200 A, 200 B) and a border section 202 ( 202 A about internal section 200 A, and 200 B about internal section 200 B) formed in an overlapping region, e.g., 186 ( FIG. 6 ), for multiple melting beam sources 134 , 137 .
- each border section 202 A, 202 B may be referenced by sub-sections, e.g., sub-sections 204 A, 204 D and 204 E extend about internal section 200 A, and sub-sections 204 B, 204 C and 204 E extend about internal section 200 B.
- “border section” indicates a section of a layer of an object 102 formed by a melting beam source that includes not just those sections created by contour scan vectors for a desired outer edge of an object, but also internal scan vectors forming sections of the layer of the object inwardly of the desired outer edge of the object.
- internal sections indicate a section of a layer of an object 102 formed by a melting beam source that includes only internal scan vectors, which follow a certain pattern that is not related to the contour of the object.
- internal section 200 A and border section 202 A thereabout represent a first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A built in overlapping field region 186 of plurality of melting beam sources, e.g., 134 , 137 , of metal powder AM system 100 ( FIG. 5 ).
- an entirety of an internal edge 210 FIG.
- border section 202 A of first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A overlaps with an entirety of an external edge 212 of internal section 200 A of first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A.
- An overlap section 214 ( FIG. 6 ) is thus created between an entirety of each border section and an internal section it surrounds.
- a similar overlap section is created for each internal section 200 with a respective border section 202 within each overlapping region. While only one internal section 200 is shown in each overlapping region, any number may be formed.
- object 102 A may be formed by sequentially forming each layer of first portion 206 by: forming only border section 202 A of first portion 206 of object 102 A using a first melting beam source 134 of plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 in first overlapping field region 186 , and forming an internal section 200 A of first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A within border section 202 A using at least one second, different melting beam source 137 from first melting beam source 134 in first overlapping field region 186 .
- At least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of internal edge 210 of border section 202 A of first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A with an entirety of external edge 212 of internal section 200 A of first portion 206 ( FIGS. 6 and 8 ) of object 102 A. That is, melting beam sources 134 , 137 create an overlap section 214 of an entirety of edges 210 , 212 of internal section 200 A and border section 202 A, respectively.
- the above-described methodology can be repeated for any number of portions of object 102 A within overlapping regions 180 , 182 , 184 , 186 of multiple melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 .
- second portion 220 may be formed by sequentially forming each layer thereof similar to first portion 206 .
- AM system 100 may form only a border section 202 B (sub-sections 204 B, 204 C, 204 E) of second portion 220 of object 102 A using first melting beam source 134 in second overlapping field region 180 , and may form internal section 200 B of second portion 220 of object 102 A within border section 202 B using a third melting beam source 135 different than first melting beam source 134 and second melting beam source 137 in second overlapping field region 180 .
- at least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of internal edge 210 of border section 202 B of second portion 220 ( FIG. 6 ) of object 102 A with an entirety of external edge 212 of internal section 200 B of second portion 220 ( FIG. 6 ) of object 102 A.
- melting beam sources 134 , 135 create an overlap section 214 of edges 210 , 212 of internal section 200 A and 200 B and border section 202 A, 202 B, respectively.
- sub-sections 204 C and 204 D of border sections 202 A, 202 B, respectively create overlapping scan vectors and space internal sections 200 A, 200 B, respectively, relative to an outer extent of each overlapping field in which the internal sections are generated. More specifically, sub-section 204 C creates overlapping scan vectors and spaces internal section 200 B from an outer extent of field 2 of melting beam source 135 , and sub-section 204 D creates overlapping scan vectors and spaces internal section 200 A from an outer extent of field 4 of melting beam source 137 .
- the overlapping scan vectors that create border sub-sections 204 C, 204 D allow for compensation of misalignment of melting beam sources 135 , 137 within the range of the overlapping scan vectors.
- border sections 202 exist about an entirety of internal sections 200 , overlapping of scan vectors in the X direction and the Y direction are created, rather than just in one or the other direction. Consequently, misalignment within the range of overlap can be addressed to avoid defects relative to X and/or Y direction shifts in the melting beam sources.
- portion(s) of object 102 A may be built in a non-overlapping field region 170 of a selected melting beam source, e.g., 134 . That is, AM system 100 may sequentially form layers of third portion 222 exclusively using selected melting beam source 134 in non-overlapping field region 170 .
- the above-described methodology can be used simultaneously to build any number of objects 102 on build platform 132 ( FIG. 5 ).
- another object 102 B may be built simultaneously with object 102 A.
- control system 104 of AM system 100 may also load balance use of plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 within overlapping region(s) 180 , 182 , 184 , 186 , and within any particular layer. That is, AM system 100 may balance the duration each melting beam source is employed. Melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 may be load balanced within each layer using any now known or later developed strategy.
- FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of an object shaped differently than objects 102 A, 102 B in FIGS. 6-8 .
- Object 102 has, for example, border sections 202 A, 202 B and internal sections 204 A, 204 B that include overlap sections 214 along an entirety of their mating internal edge 210 and external edge 212 .
- FIG. 9 shows object 102 formed by a first multiple beam source (MBS 1 ) and a second multiple beam source (MBS 2 ).
- MBS 1 creates only internal scan vectors 238 to create internal sections 200
- MBS 2 creates internal scan vectors 239 and contour scan vectors 241 to form border sections 202 .
- MBS 1 creates internal sections 200 A, 200 B
- MBS 2 creates border sections 202 A, 202 B using many internal scan vectors 238 and one to three contour scan vectors 239 along an outer edge of object 102
- both MBS 1 and MBS 2 may create overlap sections 214 .
- FIG. 9 shows how an overlap section 214 Y in a Y-direction in an overlapping region between, for example, border section 202 A and internal section 200 A, e.g., at sub-section 204 A, can be used to compensate for Y-direction misalignment 230 .
- FIG. 9 shows how an overlap section 214 Y in a Y-direction in an overlapping region between, for example, border section 202 A and internal section 200 A, e.g., at sub-section 204 A, can be used to compensate for Y-direction misalignment 230 .
- FIG. 9 also shows how an overlap section 214 X in an X-direction in an overlapping region between, for example, border section 202 B and internal section 200 B, e.g., at sub-section 204 B, can be used to compensate for X-direction misalignment 232 .
- FIG. 10 shows a schematic plan view and FIG. 11 shows an enlarged, cross-sectional view of an object 102 formed according to embodiments of the disclosure.
- object 102 includes an internal section 200 of a first portion 236 that includes a void 240 .
- Void 240 may take any form such as but not limited to: an opening, passage, channel, etc.
- void 240 includes a passage such as a cooling passage in a metal object 102 .
- Internal section 200 of portion 236 of object 102 is formed in an overlapping region 242 of a first melting beam source MBS 1 and a second melting beam source MBS 2 .
- forming border section 202 includes forming void 240 using one of the melting beams, i.e., from melting beam source MBS 1 or MBS 2 .
- void 240 regardless off its form, can be created using only one melting beam source, e.g., MBS 1 , rather than trying to align two melting beams as is conventional.
- void 240 has a smooth interior surface 244 , free of stepped or rough surfaces. Smooth interior surface 244 would be difficult to generate using multiple melting beam sources without overlapping internal and border sections.
- FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic, plan views of additional examples of objects 102 that can be formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. As indicated, objects 102 can take on practically any shape, and employ teachings of the disclosure.
- embodiments of the disclosure include multiple melting beam source, metal powder AM system 100 for additive manufacturing object 102 .
- AM system 100 includes a metal powder additive manufacturing printer 106 including plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 for creating respective plurality of melting beams 138 , 138 ′.
- Control system 104 of AM system 100 is configured to direct operation of plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 to carry out the sequential forming of layers of portions of object 102 , as described herein.
- Embodiments of the disclosure may also include a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code 108 O representative of object 102 , the object physically generated upon execution of the code by a computerized metal powder, multiple melting beam source AM system 100 .
- code 108 O may include code representing, for example, first portion 206 of object 102 A to be built in overlapping field region 186 of plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 of AM system 100 .
- Code 108 O for first portion 206 may include: a border section 202 of first portion 206 of object 102 A to be built using first melting beam source 134 of plurality of melting beam sources 134 , 135 , 136 , 137 in first overlapping field region 186 . Further, code 108 O may include internal section 200 A of first portion 206 within border section 202 to be built using at least one second, different melting beam source 137 from first melting beam source 134 in first overlapping field region 186 . As noted, code 108 A overlaps an entirety of an internal edge 210 of border section 202 A of first portion 206 with an entirety of an external edge 212 of internal section 200 A of first portion 206 .
- Code 108 O may also include a second portion 220 to be built in a second overlapping field region 180 of the plurality of melting beam sources.
- Code 108 O for second portion 220 may include: border section 202 B to be built using first melting beam source 134 in second overlapping field region 180 , and internal section 200 B of second portion 220 within border section 202 B to be built using a third melting beam source 135 different than first melting beam source 134 and second melting beam source 137 in second overlapping field region 180 .
- Code 108 O may also include third portion 222 to be built in a non-overlapping field region 170 of a selected melting beam source 134 .
- the methodology, AM system 100 and code 108 O described herein have the technical effect of providing better quality objects 102 in a manner that is just as fast as conventional approaches. Further, they provide increased quality due to the reduced risk of defects related to misalignment of melting beam sources. Further, they provide quicker machine setup and reduced need for alignment calibration due to the more robust beam allocation provided by the overlapping border and internal sections, e.g., during the DMLM process.
- the objects created also exhibit increased quality due to better mechanical interlocking of regions processed by several melting beam sources.
- a void is provided in an object
- embodiments of the disclosure provide increased quality by producing the void using only one melting beam source to avoid stepped or rough surfaces.
- the smoother internal surface may aid in avoiding reduced cooling flow due to melting beam source misalignment.
- Approximating language may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value.
- range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. “Approximately” as applied to a particular value of a range applies to both values, and unless otherwise dependent on the precision of the instrument measuring the value, may indicate +/ ⁇ 10% of the stated value(s).
Abstract
Description
- The disclosure relates generally to additive manufacturing, and more particularly, to methods and systems for metal powder additive manufacturing a portion of an object using different melting beam sources in an overlapping field region of the sources and including overlapping border and internal sections of the portion.
- Additive manufacturing (AM) includes a wide variety of processes of producing an object through the successive layering of material rather than the removal of material. As such, additive manufacturing can create complex geometries without the use of any sort of tools, molds or fixtures, and with little or no waste material. Instead of machining components from solid billets of material, much of which is cut away and discarded, the only material used in additive manufacturing is what is required to shape the object.
- Additive manufacturing techniques typically include taking a three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) file of the object to be formed, electronically slicing the object into layers, and creating a file with a two-dimensional image of each layer. The file may then be loaded into a preparation software system that interprets the file such that the object can be built by different types of additive manufacturing systems. In 3D printing, rapid prototyping (RP), and direct digital manufacturing (DDM) forms of additive manufacturing, material layers are selectively dispensed to create the object.
- In metal powder additive manufacturing techniques, such as selective laser melting (SLM) and direct metal laser melting (DMLM), metal powder layers are sequentially melted together to form the object. More specifically, fine metal powder layers are sequentially melted after being uniformly distributed using an applicator on a metal powder bed. The metal powder bed can be moved in a vertical axis. The process takes place in a processing chamber having a precisely controlled atmosphere of inert gas, e.g., argon or nitrogen. Once each layer is created, each two dimensional slice of the object geometry can be fused by selectively melting the metal powder. The melting may be performed by, for example, a high powered melting beam, such as a 100 Watt ytterbium laser, to fully weld (melt) the metal powder to form a solid metal. The melting beam moves in the X-Y direction using scanning mirrors, and has an intensity sufficient to fully weld (melt) the metal powder to form a solid metal. The metal powder bed is lowered for each subsequent two dimensional layer, and the process repeats until the object is completely formed.
- In order to create more objects faster or create larger objects, some metal additive manufacturing systems employ numerous high powered melting beam sources, e.g., four lasers, that work together to form numerous objects or a larger object. For speed, some of these systems employ techniques that form a shell of an object with one melting beam source using a small beam size, and a core of the object with another melting beam source using a larger beam size that melts material adjacent to the shell. Further, for speed or source balancing reasons, some of these systems employ techniques that form a portion of an object with one melting beam source, and at least a second portion with a second melting beam source that melts material adjacent thereto. In either event, the melting beams sources must be precisely aligned to ensure defects do not occur where the two melting beam sources work in adjacent areas.
- A first aspect of the disclosure provides a method for additive manufacturing an object, the method comprising: for a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of a plurality of melting beams of a metal powder additive manufacturing system, sequentially forming each layer of the first portion by: forming only a border section of the first portion of the object using a first melting beam of the plurality of melting beams in the first overlapping field region; and forming an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section using at least one second, different melting beam from the first melting beam in the first overlapping field region, wherein at least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- A second aspect of the disclosure provides a multiple melting beam source, metal powder additive manufacturing (AM) system for additive manufacturing an object, the system comprising: a metal powder additive manufacturing printer including a plurality of melting beam sources for creating a respective plurality of melting beams; and a control system configured to direct operation of the plurality of melting beam sources to: for a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of the plurality of melting beams, sequentially form each layer of the first portion by: forming only a border section of the first portion of the object using a first melting beam of the plurality of melting beams in the first overlapping field region; and forming an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section using at least one second, different melting beam from the first melting beam in the first overlapping field region, wherein at least one of the forming steps includes overlapping an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- A third aspect of the disclosure provides a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code representative of an object, the object physically generated upon execution of the code by a computerized metal powder, multiple melting beam source, additive manufacturing system, the code comprising: code representing a first portion of the object to be built in a first overlapping field region of a plurality of melting beam sources of the additive manufacturing system, the code for the first portion including: a border section of the first portion of the object to be built using a first melting beam source of the plurality of melting beam sources in the first overlapping field region; an internal section of the first portion of the object within the border section to be built using at least one second, different melting beam source from the first melting beam source in the first overlapping field region; and wherein the code overlaps an entirety of an internal edge of the border section of the first portion of the object with an entirety of an external edge of the internal section of the first portion of the object.
- The illustrative aspects of the present disclosure are designed to solve the problems herein described and/or other problems not discussed.
- These and other features of this disclosure will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the disclosure, in which:
-
FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a conventional two melting beam additive manufacturing system building an object. -
FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of respective fields of a conventional four melting beam additive manufacturing system. -
FIG. 3 shows a schematic plan view of the four melting beam additive manufacturing system ofFIG. 2 building a pair of objects in overlapping field regions. -
FIGS. 4A-C show schematic plan views of melting beam misalignment issues of multiple melting beam additive manufacturing systems. -
FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a multiple melting beam additive manufacturing system, including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code representative of an object, according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 6 shows a schematic plan view of a four melting beam additive manufacturing system building a pair of objects in overlapping field regions according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 7 shows an exploded, schematic plan view of a layer of one object formed by the system fromFIG. 6 illustrating a border section and internal sections formed in an overlapping field region according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 8 shows an enlarged, schematic plan view of a layer of one object formed by the system fromFIG. 6 illustrating the overlapping border and internal sections formed in an overlapping field region according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of another object and melting beam scan vectors thereof according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 10 shows a schematic plan view of another object including a void formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIG. 11 shows an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the object ofFIG. 10 including a void formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. -
FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic plan views of examples of other objects formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. - It is noted that the drawings of the disclosure are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the disclosure, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the disclosure. In the drawings, like numbering represents like elements between the drawings.
- As an initial matter, in order to clearly describe the current disclosure it will become necessary to select certain terminology when referring to and describing relevant machine components within a metal powder additive manufacturing system. When doing this, if possible, common industry terminology will be used and employed in a manner consistent with its accepted meaning. Unless otherwise stated, such terminology should be given a broad interpretation consistent with the context of the present application and the scope of the appended claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that often a particular component may be referred to using several different or overlapping terms. What may be described herein as being a single component may include and be referenced in another context as consisting of multiple components. Alternatively, what may be described herein as including multiple components may be referred to elsewhere as a single component.
- As indicated above, the disclosure provides methods and a metal powder additive manufacturing (AM) system that employ multiple melting beams to create more objects faster or create larger objects. As used herein, “melting beam source,” or “source” for short, may refer to: any form of melting beam originating structure such as a laser scanner or electron beam electromagnetic coil, or any form of device that creates a number of melting beams from a single beam, e.g., a beam separator, mirror, etc. In any event, the melting beam is capable of forming a melt pool of metal powder in an additive manufacturing setting. Depending on the design of the object and the number of objects in one build job, object(s) may have to be produced by more than one melting beam source. Embodiments of the disclosure provide a technique to address melting beam source misalignment relative to an object made by more than one melting beam. The number of melting beam sources used by any metal powder additive manufacturing system may vary, e.g., two, three, four, etc.
-
FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of melting beams of an additive manufacturing system using two adjacentmelting beam sources illustrative object 20.Internal scan vectors 22 meltinner regions 24 ofobject 20 that scan linearly across a layer, and a verythin border 26 is melted with one to threecontour scan vectors 28 that only follow a desired outer edge of the layer. Here,border 26, as created exclusively bycontour scan vectors 28, is always along a perimeter ofobject 20, andinternal scan vectors 22 only createinner regions 24 withinborder 26. Where more than onelaser melting beam source other source -
FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of melting beam source fields of an additive manufacturing system that employs fourmelting beam sources FIG. 2 , eachmelting beam source respective field melting beam source melting beam source field FIG. 2 , the total metal powder build platform area is, for example, 500 millimeters (mm) by 500 mm. Each melting beam source however has a field that is 425 mm by 425 mm, e.g., see dimension lines forfield 1 ofsource 10. Here, adjacent fields overlap. An “overlapping field region” or “overlap region” of fields indicates an area in which more than one melting beam source can create a melt pool. InFIG. 2 , for example, each field may have a 350 mm overlap region with an adjacent field as follows:region 40 forsources region 42 forsources region 44 forsources region 46 forsources square overlap region 48 exists in the center that is covered by eachmelting beam source FIG. 2 ,field 1 includesnon-overlapping field region 70 ofmelting beam source 10,field 2 includesnon-overlapping field region 72 ofmelting beam source 12,field 3 includesnon-overlapping field region 74 ofmelting beam source 14, andfield 4 includesnon-overlapping field region 76 ofmelting beam source 16. Here, each non-overlapping region is 75 mm by 75 mm. It is emphasized thatFIG. 2 is but one example of an arrangement of overlapping melting beams, and various other options may exist with different sized fields and overlapping regions. In another option, each field may completely overlap each other field so the entire build platform is an overlapping region. -
FIG. 3 shows the schematic plan view ofFIG. 2 with a layer of twoobjects sources respective fields objects object melting source object 50 may be formed by:source 10 innon-overlapping region 70 offield 1,source 12 in overlappingfield region 40, andsource 16 in overlappingfield region 46. Similarly, object 52 may be formed by:source 14 innon-overlapping region 74 infield 3,source 12 in overlappingfield region 42, andsource 16 in overlappingfield region 44. With reference to object 52, in each overlapping field region, melting beam sources are conventionally configured to have their vectors align exactly to generate a dense microstructure internally (e.g., at internal mating surfaces noted by line 54), and an object without a step on the outer surface (e.g., atedge 56 where surfaces mate). In this case, a portion ofobject 52 that are built by more than one source are separated along a fixed split line, e.g.,line 54, and every source melts the corresponding portion ofobject 52 cross section on its side of the split line. - Conventionally, within overlapping field regions, fields may be configured to overlap slightly (e.g., 0.5 millimeters) in either an X or a Y direction to compensate for misalignment between the melting beam sources in one of those directions. To illustrate,
FIGS. 4A-C show intended object shapes with solid outer lines, possible misalignment issues, and their related defects of two melting beam sources (MBS1 and MBS2). For example,FIG. 4A shows a Y-direction shift separating fields that creates adefect area 62.Defect areas 62 would include such defects as pores or other forms of insufficient melting, i.e., where MBS1 and/or MBS2 do not create a melt pool.FIG. 4B shows an overlapping Y-direction shift that creates defect area(s) 64.Defect areas 64 indicate areas where the object is built too small, i.e., where MBS1 and/or MBS2 do not create a melt pool to the desired shape. In contrast,FIG. 4C shows an X-direction shift, which can createdefect areas 66 observed as misaligned or stepped surfaces, or surface roughness. The overlap region in the Y-direction in, for exampleFIG. 4B , can be used to compensate for some Y-direction shift. However, when the Y-direction shift ofFIG. 4A occurs, or the X-direction shift occurs, or both X and Y direction shifts occur together, there is currently no way to adequately compensate for the situation. (It is noted that while shown in a particular X-Y arrangement, all of the defects illustrated can occur in the Y direction or the X direction.) - The alignment of multiple melting beam sources depends on the stability of the hardware and the calibration of all sources with respect to each other. However, both hardware and calibration are subjected to shift and error. The shift between melting beam sources can be created by a number of factors such as but not limited to: thermal drift, manufacturing and assembly tolerances, mechanical drift, and alignment tolerances. Embodiments of the disclosure provide a strategy which allocates the work of multiple melting beam sources by separating a portion of an object to be built in an overlapping field region into an outer, border section and one or more internal, embedded sections within the border section. The outer, border section is molten by a single melting beam source, whereas the inner, embedded region is molten by at least one different source. The internal and border sections include an overlap section along an entirety of their mating edges, i.e., in the X-direction and the Y-direction. Consequently, compensation for shifts can occur in both X and Y directions, avoiding the defects described relative to
FIGS. 4A-C . -
FIG. 5 shows a schematic/block view of an illustrative computerized metal powder additive manufacturing system 100 (hereinafter ‘AM system 100’) for generating onelarge object 102 ormultiple objects object 102A, B using multiplemelting beam sources multiple objects melting beam sources AM system 100 is arranged for direct metal laser melting (DMLM). It is understood that the general teachings of the disclosure are equally applicable to other forms of metal powder additive manufacturing such as but not limited to selective laser melting (SLM), and perhaps other forms of additive manufacturing.Objects build platform 132. -
AM system 100 generally includes a metal powder additive manufacturing control system 104 (“control system”) and anAM printer 106. As will be described, control system 104 executes set of computer-executable instructions orcode 108 to generateobject 102 using multiplemelting beam sources computer 110 as computer program code. To this extent,computer 110 is shown including amemory 112 and/orstorage system 122, a processor unit (PU) 114, an input/output (I/O)interface 116, and abus 118. Further,computer 110 is shown in communication with an external I/O device/resource 120 and astorage system 122. In general, processor unit (PU) 114 executescomputer program code 108 that is stored inmemory 112 and/orstorage system 122. While executingcomputer program code 108, processor unit (PU) 114 can read and/or write data to/frommemory 112,storage system 122, I/O device 120 and/orAM printer 106.Bus 118 provides a communication link between each of the components incomputer 110, and I/O device 120 can comprise any device that enables a user to interact with computer 110 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, display, etc.).Computer 110 is only representative of various possible combinations of hardware and software. For example, processor unit (PU) 114 may comprise a single processing unit, or be distributed across one or more processing units in one or more locations, e.g., on a client and server. Similarly,memory 112 and/orstorage system 122 may reside at one or more physical locations.Memory 112 and/orstorage system 122 can comprise any combination of various types of non-transitory computer readable storage medium including magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), etc.Computer 110 can comprise any type of computing device such as an industrial controller, a network server, a desktop computer, a laptop, a handheld device, etc. - As noted,
AM system 100 and, in particular control system 104, executescode 108 to generateobject 102.Code 108 can include, inter alia, a set of computer-executable instructions 108S (herein also referred to as ‘code 108S’) foroperating AM printer 106, and a set of computer-executable instructions 108O (herein also referred to as ‘code 108O’) definingobject 102 to be physically generated byAM printer 106. As described herein, additive manufacturing processes begin with a non-transitory computer readable storage medium (e.g.,memory 112,storage system 122, etc.) storingcode 108. Set of computer-executable instructions 108S for operatingAM printer 106 may include any now known or later developed software code capable of operatingAM printer 106. - Set of computer-executable instructions
108 O defining object 102 may include a precisely defined 3D model of an object and can be generated from any of a large variety of well-known computer aided design (CAD) software systems such as AutoCAD®, TurboCAD®, DesignCAD 3D Max, etc. In this regard, code 108O can include any now known or later developed file format. Furthermore, code 108O representative ofobject 102 may be translated between different formats. For example, code 108O may include Standard Tessellation Language (STL) files which was created for stereolithography CAD programs of 3D Systems, or an additive manufacturing file (AMF), which is an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standard that is an extensible markup-language (XML) based format designed to allow any CAD software to describe the shape and composition of any three-dimensional object to be fabricated on any AM printer. Code 108O representative ofobject 102 may also be converted into a set of data signals and transmitted, received as a set of data signals and converted to code, stored, etc., as necessary. Code 108O may be configured according to embodiments of the disclosure to allow for formation of border and internal sections in overlapping field regions, as will be described. In any event, code 108O may be an input toAM system 100 and may come from a part designer, an intellectual property (IP) provider, a design company, the operator or owner ofAM system 100, or from other sources. In any event, control system 104 executescode 108S and 108O, dividingobject 102 into a series of thin slices that assembles usingAM printer 106 in successive layers of material. -
AM printer 106 may include aprocessing chamber 130 that is sealed to provide a controlled atmosphere forobject 102 printing. Abuild platform 132, upon which object 102 is/are built, is positioned withinprocessing chamber 130. A number ofmelting beam sources build platform 132 to generateobject 102. While fourmelting beam sources FIG. 6 , eachmelting beam source field non-overlapping field region field region melting beam source FIG. 5 ), respectively, that fuses particles for each slice, as defined by code 108O. For example, inFIG. 5 ,melting beam source 134 is shown creating a layer ofobject 102 usingmelting beam 138 in one region, while meltingbeam source 136 is shown creating a layer ofobject 102 usingmelting beam 138′ in another region. Eachmelting beam source melting beam source platform 132 correlated with its actual position in order to provide an individual position correction (not shown) to ensure its individual accuracy. In one embodiment, each of pluralitymelting beam sources FIG. 5 ), having the same cross-sectional dimensions (e.g., shape and size in operation), power and scan speed. - Referring to
FIG. 5 , anapplicator 140 may create a thin layer ofraw material 142 spread out as the blank canvas from which each successive slice of the final object will be created. Various parts ofAM printer 106 may move to accommodate the addition of each new layer, e.g., abuild platform 132 may lower and/orchamber 130 and/orapplicator 140 may rise after each layer. The process may use different raw materials in the form of fine-grain metal powder, a stock of which may be held in achamber 144 accessible byapplicator 140. In the instant case, object 102 may be made of a metal which may include a pure metal or an alloy. In one example, the metal may include practically any non-reactive metal powder, i.e., non-explosive or non-conductive powder, such as but not limited to: a cobalt chromium molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy, stainless steel, an austenite nickel-chromium based alloy such as a nickel-chromium-molybdenum-niobium alloy (NiCrMoNb) (e.g., Inconel 625 or Inconel 718), a nickel-chromium-iron-molybdenum alloy (NiCrFeMo) (e.g., Hastelloy® X available from Haynes International, Inc.), or a nickel-chromium-cobalt-molybdenum alloy (NiCrCoMo) (e.g., Haynes 282 available from Haynes International, Inc.), etc. -
Processing chamber 130 is filled with an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen and controlled to minimize or eliminate oxygen. Control system 104 is configured to control a flow of agas mixture 160 withinprocessing chamber 130 from a source ofinert gas 154. In this case, control system 104 may control apump 150, and/or aflow valve system 152 for inert gas to control the content ofgas mixture 160.Flow valve system 152 may include one or more computer controllable valves, flow sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, etc., capable of precisely controlling flow of the particular gas. Pump 150 may be provided with or withoutvalve system 152. Where pump 150 is omitted, inert gas may simply enter a conduit or manifold prior to introduction toprocessing chamber 130. Source ofinert gas 154 may take the form of any conventional source for the material contained therein, e.g. a tank, reservoir or other source. Any sensors (not shown) required to measuregas mixture 160 may be provided.Gas mixture 160 may be filtered using afilter 162 in a conventional manner. - In operation, build
platform 132 with metal powder thereon is provided withinprocessing chamber 130, and control system 104 controls flow ofgas mixture 160 withinprocessing chamber 130 from source ofinert gas 154. Control system 104 also controlsAM printer 106, and in particular,applicator 140 andmelting beam sources build platform 132 to generateobject 102 according to embodiments of the disclosure. - Referring to
FIGS. 6-8 , embodiments of an operational method foradditive manufacturing object 102 withAM system 100 will now be described.FIG. 6 shows schematic plan view of respective fields of a four melting beam AM system 100 (FIG. 5 );FIG. 7 shows an exploded, schematic plan view of sections of anillustrative object 102A fromFIG. 6 ; andFIG. 8 shows an enlarged, schematic plan view ofobject 102A fromFIG. 6 illustrating object overlap sections as will be described herein. As shown inFIG. 6 , anillustrative object 102A may be formed by: meltingbeam source 134 innon-overlapping region 170 infield 1,melting beam source 135 in overlappingfield region 180, andmelting beam source 137 in overlappingfield region 186. Similarly, object 102B may be formed by: meltingbeam source 136 innon-overlapping field region 174 infield 3,melting beam source 135 in overlappingfield region 182, andmelting beam source 137 in overlappingfield region 184. With reference to object 102A, for example, and as shown in the exploded, schematic plan view inFIG. 7 , in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, each object may include one or more internal sections (two shown, 200A, 200B) and a border section 202 (202A aboutinternal section internal section 200B) formed in an overlapping region, e.g., 186 (FIG. 6 ), for multiplemelting beam sources border section sub-sections internal section 200A, andsub-sections internal section 200B. As used herein, “border section” indicates a section of a layer of anobject 102 formed by a melting beam source that includes not just those sections created by contour scan vectors for a desired outer edge of an object, but also internal scan vectors forming sections of the layer of the object inwardly of the desired outer edge of the object. As used herein, “internal sections” indicate a section of a layer of anobject 102 formed by a melting beam source that includes only internal scan vectors, which follow a certain pattern that is not related to the contour of the object. Collectively,internal section 200A andborder section 202A thereabout (e.g.,sub-sections 204A, D and E) represent a first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A built in overlappingfield region 186 of plurality of melting beam sources, e.g., 134, 137, of metal powder AM system 100 (FIG. 5 ). As shown best in the enlarged, schematic plan view ofFIG. 8 , in contrast to conventional techniques, an entirety of an internal edge 210 (FIG. 7 ) ofborder section 202A of first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A overlaps with an entirety of anexternal edge 212 ofinternal section 200A of first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A. An overlap section 214 (FIG. 6 ) is thus created between an entirety of each border section and an internal section it surrounds. A similar overlap section is created for eachinternal section 200 with arespective border section 202 within each overlapping region. While only oneinternal section 200 is shown in each overlapping region, any number may be formed. - For
first portion 206 in overlappingregion 186, object 102A may be formed by sequentially forming each layer offirst portion 206 by: formingonly border section 202A offirst portion 206 ofobject 102A using a firstmelting beam source 134 of plurality ofmelting beam sources field region 186, and forming aninternal section 200A of first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A withinborder section 202A using at least one second, differentmelting beam source 137 from firstmelting beam source 134 in first overlappingfield region 186. Here, at least one of the forming steps (i.e., the latter occurring) includes overlapping an entirety ofinternal edge 210 ofborder section 202A of first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A with an entirety ofexternal edge 212 ofinternal section 200A of first portion 206 (FIGS. 6 and 8 ) ofobject 102A. That is, meltingbeam sources overlap section 214 of an entirety ofedges internal section 200A andborder section 202A, respectively. - As also shown in
FIGS. 6-8 , the above-described methodology can be repeated for any number of portions ofobject 102A within overlappingregions melting beam sources FIGS. 6 and 7 , for a second portion 220 (FIG. 6 ) ofobject 102A to be built in a second overlapping field region 180 (different than overlapping region 186) of plurality ofmelting beam sources second portion 220 may be formed by sequentially forming each layer thereof similar tofirst portion 206. That is,AM system 100 may form only aborder section 202B (sub-sections second portion 220 ofobject 102A using firstmelting beam source 134 in second overlappingfield region 180, and may forminternal section 200B ofsecond portion 220 ofobject 102A withinborder section 202B using a thirdmelting beam source 135 different than firstmelting beam source 134 and secondmelting beam source 137 in second overlappingfield region 180. Here again, at least one of the forming steps (i.e., the latter occurring) includes overlapping an entirety ofinternal edge 210 ofborder section 202B of second portion 220 (FIG. 6 ) ofobject 102A with an entirety ofexternal edge 212 ofinternal section 200B of second portion 220 (FIG. 6 ) ofobject 102A. That is, again, meltingbeam sources overlap section 214 ofedges internal section border section - As shown in
FIG. 7 ,sub-sections border sections internal sections sub-section 204C creates overlapping scan vectors and spacesinternal section 200B from an outer extent offield 2 ofmelting beam source 135, andsub-section 204D creates overlapping scan vectors and spacesinternal section 200A from an outer extent offield 4 ofmelting beam source 137. The overlapping scan vectors that createborder sub-sections melting beam sources border sections 202 exist about an entirety ofinternal sections 200, overlapping of scan vectors in the X direction and the Y direction are created, rather than just in one or the other direction. Consequently, misalignment within the range of overlap can be addressed to avoid defects relative to X and/or Y direction shifts in the melting beam sources. - In addition to the above portions of
object 102A, portion(s) ofobject 102A, e.g., athird portion 222, may be built in anon-overlapping field region 170 of a selected melting beam source, e.g., 134. That is,AM system 100 may sequentially form layers ofthird portion 222 exclusively using selectedmelting beam source 134 innon-overlapping field region 170. - The above-described methodology can be used simultaneously to build any number of
objects 102 on build platform 132 (FIG. 5 ). InFIG. 6 , for example, anotherobject 102B may be built simultaneously withobject 102A. - In addition to the above-described methodology, control system 104 of
AM system 100 may also load balance use of plurality ofmelting beam sources AM system 100 may balance the duration each melting beam source is employed.Melting beam sources -
FIG. 9 shows a schematic plan view of an object shaped differently thanobjects FIGS. 6-8 .Object 102 has, for example,border sections internal sections overlap sections 214 along an entirety of their matinginternal edge 210 andexternal edge 212.FIG. 9 shows object 102 formed by a first multiple beam source (MBS1) and a second multiple beam source (MBS2). In this example, MBS1 creates onlyinternal scan vectors 238 to createinternal sections 200, and MBS2 createsinternal scan vectors 239 and contour scanvectors 241 to formborder sections 202. Consequently, MBS1 createsinternal sections border sections internal scan vectors 238 and one to threecontour scan vectors 239 along an outer edge ofobject 102; and both MBS1 and MBS2 may createoverlap sections 214.FIG. 9 shows how anoverlap section 214Y in a Y-direction in an overlapping region between, for example,border section 202A andinternal section 200A, e.g., atsub-section 204A, can be used to compensate for Y-direction misalignment 230.FIG. 9 also shows how anoverlap section 214X in an X-direction in an overlapping region between, for example,border section 202B andinternal section 200B, e.g., atsub-section 204B, can be used to compensate forX-direction misalignment 232. -
FIG. 10 shows a schematic plan view andFIG. 11 shows an enlarged, cross-sectional view of anobject 102 formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. In this embodiment,object 102 includes aninternal section 200 of afirst portion 236 that includes avoid 240. Void 240 may take any form such as but not limited to: an opening, passage, channel, etc. Here,void 240 includes a passage such as a cooling passage in ametal object 102.Internal section 200 ofportion 236 ofobject 102 is formed in anoverlapping region 242 of a first melting beam source MBS1 and a second melting beam source MBS2. According to embodiments of the disclosure, formingborder section 202 includes formingvoid 240 using one of the melting beams, i.e., from melting beam source MBS1 or MBS2. In this fashion, as shown inFIG. 10 ,void 240, regardless off its form, can be created using only one melting beam source, e.g., MBS1, rather than trying to align two melting beams as is conventional. As shown in the enlarged, cross-sectional view ofFIG. 11 ,void 240 has a smoothinterior surface 244, free of stepped or rough surfaces. Smoothinterior surface 244 would be difficult to generate using multiple melting beam sources without overlapping internal and border sections. -
FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic, plan views of additional examples ofobjects 102 that can be formed according to embodiments of the disclosure. As indicated,objects 102 can take on practically any shape, and employ teachings of the disclosure. - Returning to
FIG. 5 , embodiments of the disclosure include multiple melting beam source, metalpowder AM system 100 foradditive manufacturing object 102. As noted,AM system 100 includes a metal powderadditive manufacturing printer 106 including plurality ofmelting beam sources melting beams AM system 100 is configured to direct operation of plurality ofmelting beam sources object 102, as described herein. - Embodiments of the disclosure may also include a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing code 108O representative of
object 102, the object physically generated upon execution of the code by a computerized metal powder, multiple melting beamsource AM system 100. As illustrated inFIG. 6 , code 108O may include code representing, for example,first portion 206 ofobject 102A to be built in overlappingfield region 186 of plurality ofmelting beam sources AM system 100. Code 108O forfirst portion 206 may include: aborder section 202 offirst portion 206 ofobject 102A to be built using firstmelting beam source 134 of plurality ofmelting beam sources field region 186. Further, code 108O may includeinternal section 200A offirst portion 206 withinborder section 202 to be built using at least one second, differentmelting beam source 137 from firstmelting beam source 134 in first overlappingfield region 186. As noted, code 108A overlaps an entirety of aninternal edge 210 ofborder section 202A offirst portion 206 with an entirety of anexternal edge 212 ofinternal section 200A offirst portion 206. Code 108O may also include asecond portion 220 to be built in a second overlappingfield region 180 of the plurality of melting beam sources. Code 108O forsecond portion 220 may include:border section 202B to be built using firstmelting beam source 134 in second overlappingfield region 180, andinternal section 200B ofsecond portion 220 withinborder section 202B to be built using a thirdmelting beam source 135 different than firstmelting beam source 134 and secondmelting beam source 137 in second overlappingfield region 180. Code 108O may also includethird portion 222 to be built in anon-overlapping field region 170 of a selectedmelting beam source 134. - The methodology,
AM system 100 and code 108O described herein have the technical effect of providingbetter quality objects 102 in a manner that is just as fast as conventional approaches. Further, they provide increased quality due to the reduced risk of defects related to misalignment of melting beam sources. Further, they provide quicker machine setup and reduced need for alignment calibration due to the more robust beam allocation provided by the overlapping border and internal sections, e.g., during the DMLM process. The objects created also exhibit increased quality due to better mechanical interlocking of regions processed by several melting beam sources. Where a void is provided in an object, embodiments of the disclosure provide increased quality by producing the void using only one melting beam source to avoid stepped or rough surfaces. Where, for example, the void is a cooling passage in an object, the smoother internal surface may aid in avoiding reduced cooling flow due to melting beam source misalignment. - It should be noted that in some alternative implementations, the acts noted may occur out of the order described or, for example, may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or in the reverse order, depending upon the act involved.
- The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. “Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur, and that the description includes instances where the event occurs and instances where it does not.
- Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, may be applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about,” “approximately” and “substantially,” are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value. Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations may be combined and/or interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. “Approximately” as applied to a particular value of a range applies to both values, and unless otherwise dependent on the precision of the instrument measuring the value, may indicate +/−10% of the stated value(s).
- The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/474,052 US10589382B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2017-03-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different AM melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
DE102018107437.9A DE102018107437A1 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2018-03-28 | Overlapping boundary and inner portions of an object formed by different melt beam sources for additive manufacturing in an overlapping field area |
US16/776,838 US11524364B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2020-01-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US15/474,052 US10589382B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2017-03-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different AM melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/776,838 Continuation US11524364B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2020-01-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20180281112A1 true US20180281112A1 (en) | 2018-10-04 |
US10589382B2 US10589382B2 (en) | 2020-03-17 |
Family
ID=63525812
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US15/474,052 Active 2038-07-06 US10589382B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2017-03-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different AM melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
US16/776,838 Active 2038-11-07 US11524364B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2020-01-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/776,838 Active 2038-11-07 US11524364B2 (en) | 2017-03-30 | 2020-01-30 | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US10589382B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE102018107437A1 (en) |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN113001968A (en) * | 2019-12-20 | 2021-06-22 | 通用电气公司 | System and method for contour stitching in an additive manufacturing system |
US11065820B2 (en) | 2019-01-29 | 2021-07-20 | General Electric Company | Optimization approach to load balancing and minimization of build time in additive manufacturing |
WO2021258524A1 (en) * | 2020-06-24 | 2021-12-30 | 深圳市智能派科技有限公司 | Tiled light source for multi-sized photocuring 3d printer |
CN114193769A (en) * | 2020-09-17 | 2022-03-18 | 概念激光有限责任公司 | Method of defining an alternate path for an additive manufacturing machine |
CN114474716A (en) * | 2020-11-13 | 2022-05-13 | 通用电气公司 | Irradiation protocol for additive manufacturing machine |
US11449029B2 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2022-09-20 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Creating a print job using user-specified build material layer thicknesses |
WO2023003583A1 (en) * | 2021-07-20 | 2023-01-26 | Raytheon Company | Multi-source overlap design acceptance qualification |
JP7351028B2 (en) | 2020-04-22 | 2023-09-26 | 中国航発上海商用航空発動機製造有限責任公司 | A method for preforming pore defects by controlling SLM process |
US11951566B2 (en) | 2019-07-31 | 2024-04-09 | General Electric Company | Assignment of multiple print parameter sets in additive manufacturing |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN111151747A (en) * | 2019-12-31 | 2020-05-15 | 浙江大学 | Gradient performance forming design method for selective laser melting |
Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20150174827A1 (en) * | 2013-11-21 | 2015-06-25 | SLM Solutions Group AG | Method and device for controlling an irradiation system |
US20160082688A1 (en) * | 2013-04-05 | 2016-03-24 | Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. | Multilayer structure, method for producing same, and article |
US20160114432A1 (en) * | 2013-06-10 | 2016-04-28 | Renishaw Plc | Selective laser solidification apparatus and method |
US20170173883A1 (en) * | 2015-12-17 | 2017-06-22 | Stratasys, Inc. | Additive manufacturing method using tilted scanners |
US20180111219A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2018-04-26 | Arcam Ab | Method and apparatus for additive manufacturing |
Family Cites Families (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5430666A (en) | 1992-12-18 | 1995-07-04 | Dtm Corporation | Automated method and apparatus for calibration of laser scanning in a selective laser sintering apparatus |
DE4302418A1 (en) | 1993-01-28 | 1994-08-11 | Eos Electro Optical Syst | Method and device for producing a three-dimensional object |
US6270335B2 (en) | 1995-09-27 | 2001-08-07 | 3D Systems, Inc. | Selective deposition modeling method and apparatus for forming three-dimensional objects and supports |
JPH115254A (en) | 1997-04-25 | 1999-01-12 | Toyota Motor Corp | Lamination shaping method |
US6740962B1 (en) | 2000-02-24 | 2004-05-25 | Micron Technology, Inc. | Tape stiffener, semiconductor device component assemblies including same, and stereolithographic methods for fabricating same |
US20100174392A1 (en) | 2003-06-10 | 2010-07-08 | Fink Jeffrey E | Optimal dimensional and mechanical properties of laser sintered hardware by thermal analysis and parameter optimization |
CN101821081B (en) | 2007-08-23 | 2014-06-25 | 3D系统公司 | Automatic geometric calibration using laser scanning reflectometry |
DE102008057309B3 (en) | 2008-11-13 | 2009-12-03 | Trumpf Laser- Und Systemtechnik Gmbh | Determining misadjustment of powder supply nozzle, by which powder is guided as additives on workpiece, relative to laser beam, comprises constructing test structure on the workpiece in different directions by powder deposition welding |
US8666142B2 (en) | 2008-11-18 | 2014-03-04 | Global Filtration Systems | System and method for manufacturing |
FR2984779B1 (en) | 2011-12-23 | 2015-06-19 | Michelin Soc Tech | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REALIZING THREE DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS |
US20140255666A1 (en) | 2013-03-06 | 2014-09-11 | University Of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc. | Powder Bed Fusion Systems, Apparatus, and Processes for Multi-Material Part Production |
DE102013208651A1 (en) | 2013-05-10 | 2014-11-13 | Eos Gmbh Electro Optical Systems | A method of automatically calibrating a device for generatively producing a three-dimensional object |
US9468973B2 (en) | 2013-06-28 | 2016-10-18 | Arcam Ab | Method and apparatus for additive manufacturing |
GB201317974D0 (en) | 2013-09-19 | 2013-11-27 | Materialise Nv | System and method for calibrating a laser scanning system |
DE102016223215A1 (en) * | 2016-11-23 | 2018-05-24 | Trumpf Laser- Und Systemtechnik Gmbh | Irradiation device and processing machine with it |
-
2017
- 2017-03-30 US US15/474,052 patent/US10589382B2/en active Active
-
2018
- 2018-03-28 DE DE102018107437.9A patent/DE102018107437A1/en active Pending
-
2020
- 2020-01-30 US US16/776,838 patent/US11524364B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20160082688A1 (en) * | 2013-04-05 | 2016-03-24 | Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. | Multilayer structure, method for producing same, and article |
US20160114432A1 (en) * | 2013-06-10 | 2016-04-28 | Renishaw Plc | Selective laser solidification apparatus and method |
US20150174827A1 (en) * | 2013-11-21 | 2015-06-25 | SLM Solutions Group AG | Method and device for controlling an irradiation system |
US20170173883A1 (en) * | 2015-12-17 | 2017-06-22 | Stratasys, Inc. | Additive manufacturing method using tilted scanners |
US20180111219A1 (en) * | 2016-10-25 | 2018-04-26 | Arcam Ab | Method and apparatus for additive manufacturing |
Cited By (12)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US11065820B2 (en) | 2019-01-29 | 2021-07-20 | General Electric Company | Optimization approach to load balancing and minimization of build time in additive manufacturing |
US11449029B2 (en) * | 2019-01-30 | 2022-09-20 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Creating a print job using user-specified build material layer thicknesses |
US11951566B2 (en) | 2019-07-31 | 2024-04-09 | General Electric Company | Assignment of multiple print parameter sets in additive manufacturing |
CN113001968A (en) * | 2019-12-20 | 2021-06-22 | 通用电气公司 | System and method for contour stitching in an additive manufacturing system |
EP3838452A1 (en) * | 2019-12-20 | 2021-06-23 | General Electric Company | System and methods for contour stitching in additive manufacturing systems |
US11407170B2 (en) * | 2019-12-20 | 2022-08-09 | General Electric Company | System and methods for contour stitching in additive manufacturing systems |
JP7351028B2 (en) | 2020-04-22 | 2023-09-26 | 中国航発上海商用航空発動機製造有限責任公司 | A method for preforming pore defects by controlling SLM process |
WO2021258524A1 (en) * | 2020-06-24 | 2021-12-30 | 深圳市智能派科技有限公司 | Tiled light source for multi-sized photocuring 3d printer |
CN114193769A (en) * | 2020-09-17 | 2022-03-18 | 概念激光有限责任公司 | Method of defining an alternate path for an additive manufacturing machine |
CN114474716A (en) * | 2020-11-13 | 2022-05-13 | 通用电气公司 | Irradiation protocol for additive manufacturing machine |
US20220152934A1 (en) * | 2020-11-13 | 2022-05-19 | General Electric Company | Irradiation regimes for additive manufacturing machines |
WO2023003583A1 (en) * | 2021-07-20 | 2023-01-26 | Raytheon Company | Multi-source overlap design acceptance qualification |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
DE102018107437A1 (en) | 2018-10-04 |
US11524364B2 (en) | 2022-12-13 |
US10589382B2 (en) | 2020-03-17 |
US20200164468A1 (en) | 2020-05-28 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US11524364B2 (en) | Overlapping border and internal sections of object formed by different am melting beam sources in overlapping field region | |
JP6853045B2 (en) | Laser alignment in laser additive manufacturing system | |
CN107421958B (en) | Defect correction for additive manufacturing using a tomographic scanner | |
US8452440B2 (en) | Method of forming an article | |
US10844724B2 (en) | Additively manufactured hollow body component with interior curved supports | |
US20190054567A1 (en) | Additive manufacturing systems, additive manufactured components including portions having distinct porosities, and methods of forming same | |
US11192207B2 (en) | Additive manufactured object with passage having varying cross-sectional shape | |
US10471510B2 (en) | Selective modification of build strategy parameter(s) for additive manufacturing | |
EP3417961A1 (en) | Additive manufacturing fixture | |
US10646959B2 (en) | Additive manufactured components including sacrifical caps and methods of forming same | |
US10338569B2 (en) | Selective modification of build strategy parameter(s) for additive manufacturing | |
US10682702B2 (en) | Reutilization of additive manufacturing supporting platforms | |
JP6880218B2 (en) | How to make an object, a system to make an object, and a non-transient computer-readable medium | |
US11084272B2 (en) | Test structure for additive manufacture and related method for emitter alignment | |
US10688593B2 (en) | Additive manufactured component with enlarged width area in channel at melting beams' field interface | |
US10967572B2 (en) | Build plates including conduits for additive manufacturing systems and methods of building components on build plates | |
US10695867B2 (en) | Controlling microstructure of selected range of layers of object during additive manufacture | |
US10406633B2 (en) | Selective modification of build strategy parameter(s) for additive manufacturing | |
US20180099358A1 (en) | Metallic Sleeve For Reducing Distortion In Additive Manufacturing | |
EP3944124A1 (en) | System and method of additively manufacturing a component with multiple processing strategies | |
US10589353B2 (en) | Datum structure for additively manufactured object removal from build platform | |
Campbell et al. | Rapid prototyping: a global view |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, NEW YORK Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ROERIG, FELIX MARTIN GERHARD;HARO GONZALEZ, JUAN VICENTE;REEL/FRAME:041799/0360 Effective date: 20170330 |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: DOCKETED NEW CASE - READY FOR EXAMINATION |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NON FINAL ACTION MAILED |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: RESPONSE TO NON-FINAL OFFICE ACTION ENTERED AND FORWARDED TO EXAMINER |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: NOTICE OF ALLOWANCE MAILED -- APPLICATION RECEIVED IN OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS |
|
STPP | Information on status: patent application and granting procedure in general |
Free format text: PUBLICATIONS -- ISSUE FEE PAYMENT VERIFIED |
|
STCF | Information on status: patent grant |
Free format text: PATENTED CASE |
|
MAFP | Maintenance fee payment |
Free format text: PAYMENT OF MAINTENANCE FEE, 4TH YEAR, LARGE ENTITY (ORIGINAL EVENT CODE: M1551); ENTITY STATUS OF PATENT OWNER: LARGE ENTITY Year of fee payment: 4 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: GE INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY LLC, SOUTH CAROLINA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY;REEL/FRAME:065727/0001 Effective date: 20231110 |